Wednesday, 23 January 2013

I was thrilled to be interviewed recently on one of my local radio stations in Weybridge, Surrey.The delightful Celia Jones and Nicky Rudd - presenters of the Fabulous Women Show - wanted to know about how I became a professional organiser, asked me to share some of my experiences, and give a few top decluttering and organising tips for Fabulous Women.I also outlined various options of where to dispose of unwanted items, and gave examples of some of the funnier things I've come across since I became a professional organiser - when did you ever find a pair of false teeth under the soap?! And did you know that some rugby clubs (eg. Esher RFC) often want donations of old towels to wipe their balls with?!Listen in here (scroll down to the Life section - 15th January 2012): I also gave details of how to find a professional organiser throughout the UK - via The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers website - www.apdo-uk.co.uk. The other guest was the amazing Mandy Hickson, who talked about how she made the transition from being a former RAF jet pilot to becoming a motivational and keynote speaker.

Friday, 18 January 2013

Several centimeters of snow fell this morning throughout Surrey,
which meant the beautiful scene at St Mary’s Church in Fetcham, Surrey - was
like something straight out of a Christmas card. So
we were totally amazed that any of the lovely ladies from the Horizon Women’s Group turned up at all for today's decluttering workshop!Lynda Wylie (Tidy Rooms) and Cherry Rudge (Rainbow Red) shared practical techniques to
enable the Members
to declutter and organise the valuable space in their homes.

Attendees were encouraged to create an Action Plan, to help them focus on things like their vision for their space, their decluttering goals and zoning.The workshop also touched on
making space for spirituality, and how it’s important to take time to step back
and plan your life – and your space - around your personal priorities,
including - if you are religious - making space for God.

Decluttering is a
very emotive subject, and there was much discussion amongst the group about their
personal experiences and challenges they’d faced whilst decluttering.

The Horizon Women’s Group meets fortnightly in St Mary’s church
hall, and looks at a range of topics and issues relating to women’s lives.

There is a free crèche for pre-school children, so you can
be an adult for a while and have some fun!
Meetings start at 10am for coffee and homemade cake, 10:15 informal
discussion and finish by 11:15. You don’t
have to be a member of a church to join.

It’s easy to get swept away by the media excitement and
glamour that New Year’s Resolutions brings, and feel pressurised by the annual publicity
machine about making resolutions – sometimes making us believe we might be the
odd person out if we DON’T make a New Year’s resolution.

Some people feel that New Year's resolutions are an
utter waste of time (and often money), whilst others feel they put artificial pressure
on us to conform/follow trends and achieve goals that can be unrealistic and
difficult to achieve. That feeling of embarrassment
that we’ve not done what we’ve told our support network we would do makes us
feel despondent and frustrated so that our resolutions become burdensome and
weigh us down with guilt and sadness.Our
energy gets sapped away and we end up making the situation worse that we set
out to change in the first place.

“I can’t lose weight so I eat more because to
cheer me up because I’m feeling miserable”, or

“I’ll move this pile somewhere else so I can’t
see the clutter, or split it into smaller piles so it doesn’t look so daunting”

If you’re one of those people who kept their hand up and is determined
to make a New Year’s Resolution to declutter and getting organised, my
suggestion is to make a few smaller resolutions rather than one big one – so that
they are more achievable, and you stay motivated.

And whilst you’re making your resolution, set
yourself a special reward at the same time, so that you can celebrate your
success.This should help spur you on, encourage
you to keep going and keep on feeling good about yourself.Isn’t that what life’s about?And we only get one shot at life, so make it
a good one.

Sorting out your handbag or a single drawer one step at a time is a great place to start, as they can easily become muddled - and remember to take before and after photos to prove to yourself how much progress you've made.
Then re-visit what you've done often, to make sure you're maintaining the organised momentum, and calculate how much time you've saved by doing it!

Another tip is to play your favourite uplifting music quietly
in the background whist you’re decluttering or getting yourself organised, to inspire
you, provide “virtual” company and keep you calm and relaxed.

At the same time, place a couple of drops of Rosemary essential
oil in an oil burner to help keep you focussed – or perhaps a touch of
Peppermint oil to clear your mind and keep you uplifted, or Basil essential oil
to keep you calm.

Finding someone sympathetic to your cause to help you –
whether it be a supportive impartial friend, one of the Rainbow Red team or a fellow professional
organiser from The Association of
Professional Declutterers & Organisers UK (apdo-uk) – can make an
enormous difference to keeping you on track and make what can be an emotionally
draining activity fun, especially if you’re a team person and prefer not to
work alone.

Finally, why if you live in Surrey (UK), why not attend one of Rainbow Red’s decluttering
workshops, so that you can interactively learn about
things like:

·Overcoming decluttering challenges

·The decluttering & organising process

·Where to get help

Maintaining the resolution beyond January can be challenging, so don't be too hard on yourself. Try the little-and-often principle - rest assured, it WILL work, if you're determined enough!

About Rainbow Red

Latest news and views from Rainbow Red - a Professional Decluttering, Organising, Project Management & Professional Hoarding Practitioner business based in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, UK.

Our founder - Cherry Rudge - is the daughter of a hoarder, and has a passion for improving the safety & wellbeing of her clients, and reducing organisational stress in people's lives.

Which is why she created the Hoarding Ice-Breaker form, so that people whose health has been affected by the chaos in their homes can start a conversation with a GP or medical professional, without feeling embarrassed about it.